A new after school program designed for LGBTQ+ youth is coming to ARTS/West in Athens.

The program, dubbed PRISM, will be the first of its kind in Athens County. Beginning Jan. 10, the program is free of charge and will run once a week on Wednesdays from 3-5:30 p.m. The program will service adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18.

ARTS/West events coordinator Tessa Evanosky came up with the idea of starting the program through her work as the organizer for Athens Rock Camp for Girls….

Evanosky approached educators in the area to help put together the program, including Loran Marsan, a lecturer in the Ohio University Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program, and fellow ARTS/West events coordinator Jolena Hansbarger….

Marsan noted many national studies have indicated LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to be bullied in general, but also at an even higher rate in rural areas like southeast Ohio.

The program will also provide an opportunity for participants to explore identities and history in an area considered to be lacking in resources for and general exposure to the LGBTQ+ community. Marsan added that many of her LGBTQ+ college students from the Athens and surrounding areas, as well as throughout Ohio, grew up with less than ideal high school experiences, “zero exposure” to anything related to LGBTQ+ identities and little means of artistic expression.